A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words
by BananaphoneBob
Summary: "Do you realise what day it is?" Sasuke stared at the pink-haired girl. "No." This did not amuse her. Not. One. Bit. SasuSaku one-shot. Sasuke OOC. Because it's funny. And cute.


**Hey guys and dolls! I'm back with another one-shot, just because … well, just because really :D Lately I've been getting so many ideas in my head and I'm wanting to write them all down, but if I do then I'll want to write the whole thing then it'll stop me writing my stories which I don't want to do and -breathes- it's too much. My head will explode if I don't do something. Haha. **

**Firstly, I want to encourage people to read my story **_**The Wrong One**_**. Since reviews motivate me to write it, I'm finding it hard to write the next chapter when only one person has reviewed the last one. It's been started, but I just don't want to finish it unless people like it. So please. I know I suck at updating. But it'd be very nice. And if you reviewed this at the same time, then that's just awesome :D**

**Okay I'm pushing it now. I'm just gonna stop hehe.**

**Summary: "Do you realise what day it is?" Sasuke stared at the pink-haired girl. "No." This did not amuse her. Not. One. Bit. SasuSaku one-shot.**

**Warning: Contains OOC Sasuke. Because it's funny. And cute.**

**Disclaimer: Like everything else I've written, I do not own Naruto. Curse you, Masashi Kishimoto! **

**Enjoy!**

**A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words.**

It was a strangely nice day. It was that time of year when it was still winter, yet slowly edging its way towards spring. The sun was shining, the breeze was only slight, and birds chirped in the trees.

He could've called it perfect -

"SASUKE-KUUUUUUUUUN!"

- If it hadn't been for the pink-haired girl running towards him like a maniac.

Sasuke glanced up from the paper he was holding, carelessly shoving it and his pen back into his bag. He remained slouched under the tree, yet softened his eyes as she approached, beaming like there was no tomorrow. She stopped in front of him, and, after realising he wasn't going to get up, rolled her eyes and flopped onto the grass before him.

Sasuke looked at the girl. Her pink hair swayed delicately in the soft breeze. Shoulder length, just like he remembered from so long ago. Her vivid green eyes were full of happiness as she gazed at him lovingly. Her smile did not falter once, and it was a smile he knew all too well. It was a smile he had to get used to after he returned. It was the smile that meant _'I'm expecting you to know what I'm thinking.'_

And he did, of course, know what was going on in her head right now.

But that didn't mean he was going to _tell_ her.

"Is there something you want, Sakura?"

She blinked a few times, shocked that he didn't appear to know what was happening. Her head tilted to the side and her eyebrows furrowed, and he couldn't help but smirk.

He loved making her confused.

She shuffled to his side, still staring at his unreadable face. Was he pretending he didn't know? Did he really _not_ know? He had been back for almost 4 years, surely he must know. Right?

Sasuke sighed, and turned his body to face hers. Her slender figure was kneeling down, with her hands placed gently on her lap.

It was still a wonder how he deserved her.

"I asked you a question, Sakura. What's up?"

It was then that her bottom lip stuck out, a pout forming its way onto her angelic features. Sakura huffed and folded her arms, attempting to give the Uchiha a glare, and failing miserably (although, in his mind, he was a little nervous).

"Do you know what day it is?"

Sasuke stared at the pink-haired girl. His face remained blank, but inside he was smirking endlessly.

"No."

Evidently, she did not realise the sarcasm in his voice. This was proven by the punch that sent him flying into a tree several yards from where he was just sitting. Sasuke sighed once more, as he groaned and tried to sit up, glaring at the girl he loved.

Sakura smiled sweetly, reassuring passers-by that her boyfriend was okay, and wandered over to where he was now laying. She bent down and picked up a strand of his onyx hair, twirling it in between her fingers.

"It's February 28th."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Sakura. He could never understand her, not when they were 12, not when they were 17 and he returned, and not now.

Sakura let go of his hair and began to heal the minor injuries she created. Sasuke never thought it'd be possible to have the most dangerous yet safest girlfriend all wrapped up in one person.

And Sasuke never thought that one person would be Sakura.

Sasuke smirked to himself as he thought back to the last 4 years. He had returned, after he realised that since he'd killed Itachi and Orochimaru, plus formed a team with three S-Rank criminals whilst gaining inside info with Akatsuki, he may as well put it all to good use. Sure, he wanted to destroy Konoha, and maybe a part of him still wanted to (he was strangely happy after destroying that one tree earlier), but, after being intercepted by (surprise, surprise) Naruto and a couple of others on his way there, he just got bored. There was a part of his ice cold heart that missed the days he had spent at Konoha, and, when he heard that Sakura had changed, well, it was something he had to see.

Also, he _hated_ Karin with a passion.

So, he came back. Told the Elders and Tsunade everything he knew about the Akatsuki, told them of killing Orochimaru and Itachi, told them he was currently with three dangerous S-Rank criminals.

Despite the Elders hating him almost as much as he hated Karin, Tsunade agreed to let him back, but with a suspension for a year.

He somehow felt he couldn't argue with that.

He remembered the first time he saw Sakura again. He was in Tsunade's office, being given his suspension rules, when Sakura poofed in with urgent matters to tell Tsunade.

Coincidentally, it was the urgent matter of Sasuke's three teammates lurking around Konoha's entrance.

It took about 5 minutes for her to realise that her teenage crush was sitting directly opposite her, eyes boring into her skull. And when she did notice, he wasn't expecting a slap to the face before she turned back to continue reporting to Tsunade, and leaving once again.

Later on that day, he found her alone at Ichiraku's. He noticed her stiffen when she sensed his chakra (from quite a distance, too), yet let him sit by her. They sat there talking for a while, about anything and everything, until they were interrupted by Teuchi, who had to make them leave so he could close up for the night.

Despite constant protesting, Sasuke walked Sakura home, where they continued to talk (well … _she_ continued to talk) until they reached her door. They spoke about the day he returned to Konoha, and what was happening at the time. She told him about how she had begun a new tradition to celebrate 28th February, as it was one month away from her actual birthday. When he asked her why, she simply shrugged and smiled to herself. She then gave him the whole speech about how much she had missed him, and how she was glad to have him back, gave him a peck on the cheek and went inside.

A year later, it was reaching his 18th birthday. Although Sasuke didn't particularly care, Naruto would not let it go. He insisted that Sasuke had a party; and while Sasuke downright refused, he felt he should have guessed that Naruto was already organising it. So, on July 23rd, Sasuke returned to his house after masses of training (not even at the training ground. This was just trying to dodge every birthday card and present thrown at him by fangirls) to noise, and people, and party hats.

He still hasn't forgiven Naruto.

Then again, he mused, if it wasn't for that party, he probably wouldn't be with Sakura right now.

He remembered how drunk Kiba was at the 'party', and how he constantly tried to get Sakura to go on a date with him. Tough as she was, Kiba when drunk wasn't the easiest thing to get away from. Sakura was starting to get annoyed; she wasn't exactly sober herself, which meant her punches were quite sloppy, which frustrated her. Kiba, however, found it insanely amusing, and as he giggled his head off after watching her slouch from another failed attempt at knocking him out, he took her hand and entwined their fingers.

And that was as far as he got before Sasuke kicked him out of the house. Literally.

Sakura was too drunk to make it home, so he ended up letting her sleep in his bed while he stayed on the sofa downstairs. The next morning, he woke to her sitting on the chair opposite, smiling at him sleepily. She told him that she couldn't remember much, but remembered how he got Kiba away from her, and she thanked him deeply. Apparently, she and Kiba had a little _thing_ at one point, but it didn't last long as neither were really interested in a relationship. Sasuke felt a little disappointed at that. At least, until she told him that times had changed.

That was when he decided to take it like a man, and he stood up, walked over to her, and planted a kiss on her lips. She was shocked, initially, but quickly came to terms with the situation as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed back.

Best. Moment. Ever.

"Sasuke … Sasuke? SASUKE-KUN!"

Sasuke blinked, staring up at the pink-haired beauty before him. Her eyebrow was raised, and confusion was apparent in her eyes.

"You spaced out for, like, five minutes. You okay? Did you hit your head?"

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he sat up, no longer feeling any pain caused by the punch. He stared at Sakura, who continued to look confused, and he could tell she was mentally checking his head for signs of concussion.

"You're the one that punched me. But I'm fine. There's no concussion."

Sakura seemed unsure, yet slowly nodded anyway. She stood up and held her hand out to pull the onyx-eyed man up too, yet, he politely refused (being an Uchiha and having 'pride' and all that…) and stood up himself, walking back over to his bag beneath the tree he was originally sitting under.

Sakura followed suite and held his hand tightly, as he brushed his thumb along the smooth skin of hers. She rested her head on his shoulder, closed her eyes and smiled in contentment.

They stayed like this for what seemed like forever, until Sasuke removed his hand from her own and rummaged through his bag. Sakura, disappointed that her heat source had left, turned to face him with a pout on her face, watching him carefully. He seemed to find what he was looking for, and he pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, biting the lid off with his teeth and keeping it in his mouth as the pen moved over the paper delicately. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration, causing Sakura to giggle. She could tell he was drawing something. She loved watching him when he drew pictures; it was always so intricate and precise. She knew Uchihas were amazing in practically everything, but she had never pictured Sasuke as an artist.

Soon later, Sasuke replaced the lid on the pen and threw it back into the open bag. He turned towards Sakura, a slight smile appearing on his face. Sakura folded her arms childishly, and Sasuke shook his head, chuckling. He presented the paper to Sakura, who took it gently and observed the artwork.

She gasped inwardly at what she saw.

Sakura knew Sasuke's style of drawing, and he was more an artist for subtlety and hidden meanings, like something Van Gogh would create. But this picture was completely different from the rest.

It was an image of Sasuke and herself, sitting underneath a cherry blossom tree, hand in hand, with her head resting on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling, while his eyes were trained on her, and, despite it being a picture, she could almost see the love he held in them. He was also smiling, but only just, since his mouth still couldn't get used to lifting both sides up at the same time. He had clearly taken time to do this, except for that brief finish (where she couldn't even tell the difference), and she couldn't stop smiling as she looked at it.

"I was drawing it earlier, before you came. I remembered to finish it when we looked exactly like that."

Sakura looked up and realised that they were underneath a large cherry blossom tree. It hadn't fully blossomed yet, but as spring was approaching, some had bloomed early. Sakura's eyes filled with tears, and one rolled down her cheek. Sasuke, not so good with emotions yet, took it the wrong way, and looked down at the grass, balling his hands into fists, ripping up the green blades in the process.

Sakura noticed this, and quickly grabbed his fists. "No … Sasuke … it's happiness. Happy tears. See?"

She laughed and wiped the tears from her face, and Sasuke looked up at her. The way the sun shone, she looked almost angel-like.

He held a hand against her cheek, caressing it softly. He still couldn't believe that he had her; he couldn't believe that after everything he had done, to Konoha, to Naruto, to _her_, that she still loved him. He couldn't believe it took him so long to realise that he loved her too.

"I'm fully aware that it's exactly one month until your 21st birthday. This picture is the first, and each day you'll get a new one. Think of it as … a countdown."

"But … why pictures? And why every day? I only celebrate when my birthday's a month away …"

Sasuke smirked his signature smirk and lowered his head, looking at her through his dark bangs. "A picture is worth a thousand words. Since you know I find it hard to be emotional with what I say, I felt that this should do it justice. As to why it's every day, it's because I've realised that we shouldn't just celebrate your birthday, or the month before. I should celebrate having you every day, and that's what I'm doing."

Sakura was stunned. Not just at the words said, but at the amount of words said. She knew Sasuke wasn't exactly the most romantic person in the world, and she knew Sasuke still felt uncomfortable saying things like 'I love you'.

She smiled as the words he had just spoken sunk in. She looked down at the picture once more, before looking back at her boyfriend.

"It was the day you came back."

Confused, Sasuke tilted his head to the side. He expected some kind of response to the quantity of words he had said, but he was expecting a better one. He blinked, and Sakura giggled at his confusion.

"February 28th. Four years ago today, you came back. Exactly a month from my birthday. I know that my birthday probably has nothing to do with it but … it was nice. I decided to start celebrating it because I was already in a pretty happy place, and I was excited about my birthday, like I always am, and you coming back was like … it was like you were my birthday present. So, every February 28th, I spend that day with you, because you came back home. You gave me the best birthday I could ever imagine that year … well, you _had_ given me the best birthday, this one kinda tops it. So, thank you."

Sasuke was taken aback. Had he really returned home exactly a month before her birthday? Part of him felt guilty for not realising sooner. Dates never really mattered when he was in Akatsuki or away from Konoha, because no one felt any differently no matter what day it was. He had forgotten that people cared about things like birthdays, and anniversaries. Then he came home, apparently one month from Sakura's birthday … Sasuke chuckled at the coincidence before taking her left hand, lightly brushing over her bare fingers.

"I love you, Sakura."

Sakura began crying again, laughing, too, to let Sasuke know they were happy tears, and rested her forehead against his.

"I love you too, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke smirked and closed the distance between them, brushing his lips softly against hers, noticing the spark of electricity that ran down his back, as his hand tightened around her hand.

_'Just wait until your actual birthday …'_

**Okey dokes, folks, this is DONE! As you can see, it kinda needed to be out today, and, I know, in some places in the world, it might not even be the 28****th**** any more, if it's not then HAPPY MARCH :D But here in England, it's still as 28****th**** of February as it can be, so yeah :)**

**This came to me … somehow … and I just had to do it. During my last one-shot (**_**Valentines**_**), I had a lot of reviewers telling me to write more fluff, so here it is. I know his final thought is a bit crap, but I couldn't think of any other way to say it while making it so that everyone could definitely understand haha … well, I hope you do anyway :D**

**I'm not planning to, but if you guys like this, and you figure out what the last bit is supposed to imply, and you tell me so, then I MAY do a sequel to this. It's quite open for one, and if enough people like this, then who knows? March 28****th**** might be another date for me to write something. But yeah, I can do a sequel if people want me to, but at the moment it's not something I have planned. I gotta get back to my stories hehe :) **

**I had things to say … oh, so yeah, the whole February 28****th**** thing … it took me a while to figure out **_**why**_** that should actually be so important haha, then I just sorta babbled xD. Who liked the whole 'he was drawing the picture just before she turned up hehe how funny' thing? I like subtlety, like Sasuke, and I thought that it was pretty cool.**

**OH YES, I REMEMBER NOW. Before you ask, yes, I am a solid, hardcore SasuSaku fan, no one will change that. I just … kinda like KibaSaku too. I don't know why, but lately I've been finding it cute, and they just had to have a moment. Don't kill me for it! :3**

**I think I'm done talking now. So yeah, please review if you liked it, and tell me if you want a sequel. I will only do one if people request it, otherwise I'll use my time to continue my stories (well … story, really. The other one is kinda dead … it will be brought back to life though! At some point …)**

**Okay, now I'm gonna shut up :)**

**REVIEW!**

**Over and Out :)**

**-x-Emma-x-**


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